Gildedale
Gildedale is a relatively small country of Earth Ponies to the west of Equestria, east of the Mild West, and south of the Griffin Kingdoms. They are within the realm of Celestia's Influence. Origin Gildedale is amost old as the country of Equestria itself. When the three tribes of Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns founded Equestria, not everyone was happy with the prospect of unity. As such, a certain division of the earth pony tribe went west past the Drackenridge Mountains. They found a land where the weather acted on its own free will, freeing them from the need of Pegasi. They called this land Gildedale, and the ponies came to be referred to as Daleponies. Geography Gildedale is dominated by wide-open expanses of golden praires and very few trees located between the Drakenridge and Archback mountain ranges, which has earned this country the title of "the Golden Field Between the Mountains." At first glance, Gildedale appears to be an empty wild land, devoid of any kind of development or civilization (no roads, no bridges, no buildings, etc). However, a closer look reveals this generalization to be false. Due to the lifestyle of the Daleponies, a Gildedale "city" is actually a massive barn-like building called a "fastness" that all the citizens live in together, rather than a collection of individual buildings. Gildedale is divided into four quarters (northern, southern, eastern, and western) that each have a single fastness and is lead by a military officer called the "Quarter Marshal". Thatchholm, the capital of Gildedale, lies at the very center of the nation and is the residence of both the "Lord of the Dale" (Gildedale's king) and the "Timbered Court" (where most of the country's official business is addressed). Life in Gildedale While they may be free from the need of pegasi or unicorns. Their existence is one of struggle and hardship. Having segmented themselves from the ideology of Equestria, the typical Gilde attitude is one more reflective of intolerance; being quicker to anger, and easier for them to hold a grudge than their Equestrian kin. They are also somehwhat xenophobic, but their attitude towards other races has improved over the last century. It has been known that Dalish attitudes can rub off on Equestrians and turn them sour if they're not careful. The majority of the population are farmers and soldiers. They have huge fields of crops spanning whole planes that are mostly left to themselves, only planted and harvested regularly by anypony that comes across them. One of the hardships by living in Gildedale is dealing with the Komaga or "Prarie Drakes". And it's one of the defining aspects of life in the country. They stampede annually through the land and wreak havoc on the small farming villages. To kill one is a sign of strength, and Gilde warriors - or Daleguard - use the hides in crafting their armor. A method they've learned to fight the Komaga is a tactic they call "Standing Firm". Rooting themselves to the earth with magic and becoming virtually immovable. This technique can be taugh to an Equestrian earth pony as well. Though dale ponies are distrustful of outsiders, their militant-communal society has given them incredibly strong bonds with their fellow dale ponies. Gildedale society doesn't use currency and all dale ponies do their own part to help the whole community. Appearance Due to their hardened nature and purity of their race, a Dalepony is taller, thinner, and stronger than typical Earth Ponies from Equestria. Their mane and coat colors lean towards more dull shades of brown, white, gray, black, orange, and red in contrast to the rainbow of bright pastels present in Equestrian ponies. If they had more time for social affairs, Gildedale ponies would be viewed as exotic in modern Equestrian society. Trivia *Gildedale is signifigantly lacking in many of the technological achievments present in Equestria, including photographic cameras, indoor plumbing, baking ovens, or even carriges. Since a majority of these devices are magi-techical in nature and were originally created by unicorns, it is easy to see why the Daleponies would not wish to have them. *Also unlike Equestrians, daleponies are not given a proper name at birth. Instead, each individual dalepony (with the counsel of their parents and their quarter marshal) chooses their own proper name once they've earned their cutie mark (or when they reach maturity, in the rare case that a pony doesn't earn their cutie mark). Up until this point, young daleponies are often refered to as "color colt/filly." Appearances in Fanfiction *"It's a Dangerous Business, Going out Your Door" by Jetfire (not based on the canon of WTWE). Category:Nations Category:Celestina Category:Celestia's Influence Category:Locations